157926

The Development of the Silk Road in the Song and Yuan Dynasties

The actual territory of the Northern Song Dynasty was greatly reduced, and the government failed to control the Hexi Corridor. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was even less able to set foot in Northwest China. The decline of the Silk Road became more and more obvious, and the rise of the Maritime Silk Road gradually showed signs of replacing the Land Silk Road.

Because the Song Dynasty was poor and weak, although the economy was very developed, its military strength was not good. At the same time, the Ottoman Turkish Empire rose, and its position just cut off the land Silk Road. All passing caravans were squeezed, so it was Opened up a maritime silk road. From the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, the Fujian people won the control of maritime economy and trade from the Persians, making Fujian a new starting point for the maritime silk porcelain road.

During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, foreign exchanges entered a period of frequent overseas trade. Foreign exchanges reached Korea and Japan in the east, and the Arabian Peninsula and some countries on the east coast of Africa in the west. The foreign trade income of the Southern Song Dynasty played an important role in the fiscal revenue. During the Yuan Dynasty, most of them were world-famous commercial metropolises.

Italian Marco Polo lived in China for more than ten years and wrote “Marco Polo’s Travel Notes”. Prosperous Overseas Trade During the Song Dynasty, the land traffic in the northwest was blocked, and the government had difficulties in operating, so its foreign trade was more aggressive than in previous dynasties. It can be said that it was the most developed country in the world at that time.

“Song History: Shihuo Zhi” so-called “the benefits of the southeast, ship merchants and residences are one of them”. From this point of view, foreign commercial trading activities were more vigorous in the south at that time. Volume 461 of “Song Huiyao Collection: Shihuo” also records that Liangzhe Road has the most shipbuilding, and Wenzhou and Mingzhou built 600 ships every year in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the second year of Shaoxing (AD 1132), the Maritime Shipping Department was established in Wenzhou, with Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Mingzhou as the main sea trade ports.

In addition, the Municipal Shipping Department responsible for handling foreign trade has jurisdiction over Hangzhou (now Hangzhou County, Zhejiang Province), Mingzhou (now east of Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province), Wenzhou (now Yonghua County, Zhejiang Province), and Xiuzhou Huating County (now Jiaxing County, Zhejiang Province) , Qinglong Town (now Qinglong County, Zhejiang Province), five city shipping services, and trade with more than 50 regions including Japan, Korea, and Dashi.

Song Taizong specially sent people “to each of the countries in the South China Sea” to attract overseas businessmen to trade in China by issuing “empty edicts” similar to franchise passes. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty believed that “the benefits of the city ship are the greatest. If it is handled properly, the income will be in the millions. Wouldn’t it be better for the people?”

During the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, Mongolia launched three expeditions to the west and south, which greatly expanded its territory. Together with the establishment of post roads and the restoration of the Eurasian transportation network, the long-distance trafficking of international merchants in the vast area of ​​Eurasia flourished again.

According to historical records, there were European merchants, merchants from West Asia and Central Asia, and Chinese Semu merchants who were engaged in caravan trade on the long east-west land route at that time. Merchants from Europe, Central and West Asia generally brought a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, medicine, exotic animals, spices, bamboo cloth and other commodities to China or sold them along the way. What they bought were mainly Chinese satin, embroidery, gold Brocade, silk, tea, porcelain, medicinal materials and other commodities.

There were many foreign merchants and caravans who came to China in the Yuan Dynasty, which is mostly confirmed in foreign historical materials. It is written in several places in “Marco Polo’s Travels”: “Countless merchants” and “a large number of merchants” often come and go in the outer city of Yuandadu. “There are many hotels and large inns for camel caravans. People of different races stay in designated hotels that are segregated from each other.” Since they are of different races, they are undoubtedly foreign merchants. The “Commercial Guide” also pointed out that “…Khan Bali is the most prosperous in business. Merchants from all over the world converge here, and department stores gather here.”

During the Mongolian and Yuan dynasties, when the Silk Road was smooth and economic exchanges at various levels in the Eurasian continent were thriving, a group of regional and national commodity markets and material distribution centers that were the hub of international trade between the East and the West or closely related to international trade Trade centers were formed and developed accordingly.

Almost all Chinese and foreign historical records of the Yuan Dynasty recorded the indisputable status of Yuan Dadu as the center of international trade in the East. Here, “businessmen from all over the world converge, and department stores gather.” “Marco Polo’s Travels” once introduced the grand occasion of Yuandadu’s international trade in a chapter: “The most rare and precious things in the world can be found in this city…the number of commodities sold here is higher than that of other cities. More anywhere.” Keshihar (Kashgar) was an important commercial town on the Silk Road in China in the Yuan Dynasty, and the textiles here were “transported and sold all over the world by domestic merchants.”

Suzhou in the Hexi Corridor, near here “a kind of rhubarb of very good quality produced on the mountain. Merchants from other places come here to purchase, and then sell it all over the world.” In addition, there are Biesha Bali, Hara Huozhou and so on.

The communication purpose of the Silk Road in the Yuan Dynasty changed significantly. Most of them took religious and cultural exchanges as their mission, instead of being dominated by merchants, which reflected the decline of the Silk Road from the side.